Vivian Banks Charter School
Eagle's Nest News - 10.6.23
Principal's Message
Dear VBCS Families,
VBCS will be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month on October 27th by hosting a Lunch on the Lawn for our families and friends. We invite you to join us at this celebration. K-2 students lunch will begin at 11:40, grades 3-5 will begin at 12:10. Students will be showcasing their beautiful art work inspired by the Latin culture. A student led performance by VBCS's very own Folklorico dance team is scheduled to begin at 12:30. Please plan on joing us on October 27th for this exciting event.
Students of the Week
The following students were recognized at Friday Flag Raising as our Students of the Week. They were selected by their classroom teachers for demonstrating outstanding effort and citizenship for the week. Keep up the great work Eagles!
Eagle Ticket Winners
Every Monday morning we draw an Eagle Ticket winner from each classroom. Students earn Eagle Tickets by demonstrating appropriate behaviors on campus by being Safe, Respectful, and Responsible. Students who are selected are recognized on our office Eagle Board. Congratulations to our Eagle Feather winners!
Lexia Superstars
Congratulation to our Lexia Superstars! The following students were recognized for completing a Lexia Level this week. Lexia Reading provides a systematic and structured approach to six critical areas of reading. The program creates personalized learning paths for students of all abilities through an adaptive placement and scaffolded activities that align to rigorous standards.
Perfect Attendance
We are so proud of our students who earned Perfect Attendance for the month of September! Students were recognized by their classmates and received a Perfect Attendance Certificate this morning at Flag Raising.
Teaching and Learning
Impact Aid
On Wednesday your child brought home a very important survey card accompanied by a letter explaining the Federal Impact Aid Program. This Federal Impact Aid Survey is conducted annually and brings in nearly $500,000 to the Bonsall Unified School District. These funds received directly benefit your child’s education. Our goal is to achieve a 100% participation rate from our BUSD families. You can help by completing the one-page survey and returning it to your child’s teacher before October 13, 2023. Every card returned has value. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office. We appreciate your cooperation in helping us maintain, and potentially increase, the funding Bonsall Unified students receive from the Federal Impact Aid Program.
VBCS Charter Council
The Vivian Banks Charter Council is seeking nominations of individuals who would like to
serve on the council for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years.
The Vivian Banks Charter Council is made up of Parents, Teachers, Staff and Community
Volunteers. It provides a forum for the school community to come together to review student
data, identify common goals, and to establish a plan to achieve these goals. The committee
convenes 6 times a year on campus. We would appreciate your interest and commitment to
help VBCS be the best school possible.
Once all interested parents/community members are identified a school wide election will
take place. The top 5 vote getters will be identified and will begin their service at the Oct.
meeting. Please call the office at (760) 742-3300 if you would like to participate in our bi-annual election.
BUSD Community Liaison Newsletter
Please see the Community Liaison Newsletter for October!
Skill of the Week - Having a Conversation
Communication is an integral part of the school day. Students must know how to communicate with each other, with adults, and across many settings. One difficulty many students have when talking to someone is not allowing the other person to finish what he or she is saying. Students sometimes interrupt as soon as they think they know what the other person is going to say. They get used to jumping right into the conversation with their friends or family members and don't think about how rude their behavior is. It is important for students to learn to listen and wait for their turn to speak.
Culture and Community
Student and Family Survey
We are looking for feedback to help improve your school experience! We thank you and your family for being our valued partners as we work together to educate the children in our district. Over the next several weeks, we will be asking for students in grades 3-5 to reflect on their school experience and on their own mindsets and approaches to learning via an online questionnaire they will be completing at school. The questionnaire shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to complete.
The questionnaire will ask students to self-reflect on Student Competency and Well-Being Measures (such as growth mindset and self-efficacy) and on Student Supports and Environment (such as school safety, sense of belonging, and school climate). The questions can be previewed here:
Students Grades 3-5: English here or in Spanish here.
Students Grades 6-12: English here or in Spanish here.
We are asking that all of our students participate, as their responses will provide invaluable insights into their experiences and how we can improve and adapt our district to their needs. If a student doesn't feel like they have enough information to answer a question, they will be able to skip the item altogether. The responses to the individual questions will be completely confidential. If you would like your student to opt out of taking this questionnaire, please complete this Google Form by Sunday, 10/8.
In addition, we are asking that our parents/guardians respond to questions about their experiences and perceptions of their child’s school. Your participation is completely confidential and anonymous, which means that no one at your school will ever see your individual responses. Please take your time to give honest and thoughtful answers.
You may use a computer, tablet, or smartphone to access the questions.
Please click the following link and enter the access code for your child's school: The questionnaire will be open from 10/11-10/27
Link to Questions: https://surveys.panoramaed.com/bonsallusd/login
Vivian Banks School Access Code: 5773655768
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at (760) 742-3300.
Thank you for your participation and for being a valued member of your school community.
School Portrait Order Deadline
The last day to order your Students school pictures from Gerardy Photography is October 10, 2023. You can go online or bring the money and form to the front office.
ELOP - Afterschool Enrichment
The Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) is an afterschool and intersession enrichment program for TK-6th grade students. The purpose of Vivian Bank’s Expanded Learning Opportunity Program (ELOP) is to provide all VBCS’s students access to 9 hours of instructional and enrichment programming per day for 180 days of school, as well as 30 days of intersession or summer programming.
The Expanded Learning Program will focus on developing the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs and interests of pupils through hands-on, engaging learning experiences. If you are interested in participating please see Nancy in the school office. There is no cost to participate in ELOP.
2023-2024 ELO-P Program Hours
Regular School Program - August 16, 2024 – June 7, 2024 – Dismissal- 6:00pm
Intersession Days – November 1, January 2-5, January 8, February 19-23, March 25-29- 8:00am – 5:00pm
Summer Program - June 10, 2024 – June 28, 2024 - 8:00am – 5:00pm
Bonsall Farm Field Trips
This program has been made to provide hands-on experiences in agriculture for all elementary school students in the Bonsall Unified School District. Our farm is located on the Bonsall Elementary School field next to the district office. All elementary classes were given three dates in the school year to be able to attend the school farm. Lessons and activities that are presented on the farm will be based on California Science Standards. Each farm experience will be a unique opportunity for students to engage with plants, gardening, food, nutrition, and the outdoors. The farm space is essentially an extension of the classroom, and we hope to bring students fun, and engaging lessons that keeps students interested and happy!
Transportation: Vivian Banks Charter School students will be transported to and from the
Farm location by bus. All farm dates and times are worked in and around all recess and lunch breaks.
Permission Slips: Permission slips for each student are essential and required for students to
attend the farm.
The students first visit will include a safety lesson, where staff will go over rules, tool safety, and expectations. Following that portion, kids will take a tour of the farm. Students will then go on a scavenger hunt where they will be broken into two groups to complete. Concluding the scavenger hunt, students will plant a succulent to take home with them.
Health and Saftey
Covid Tests
Vivian Banks Charter School has Covid tests available for your use. If you would like your child to retrieve the two kits, please have them pick them up in the VBCS office. Or, if you prefer, you, the parent or guardian, may pick them up at the VBCS Office. These COVID tests are provided to you as a courtesy. Testing is not required by our district.
Although we are excited to have your child attend school everyday, when your child is sick, we do ask you to keep him or her at home. Specifically, if your child has tested positive for COVID, he or she should remain at home for five (5) days from the onset of symptoms or positive COVID test (if asymptomatic). Your child may return on Day 6, unless he or she remains sick. Masking upon return to school is not required by the District.
We wish you great health as we know the cold and flu season approaches, and encourage you to place special attention to taking practical steps to boost your student’s immune system by providing nutritious food, proper amounts of sleep, and good doses of exercise.
California Shakeout Earthquake Drill
Vivian Banks Charter School will participate in the Great California ShakeOut on Thursday, Oct. 19th. This earthquake preparedness drill happens every year on the third Thursday in October. The first Great ShakeOut was Nov. 13, 2008. It was the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history and involved 5.3 million participants. Vivian Banks is committed to emergency preparedness. More information can be found at https://www.shakeout.org/
Upcoming Events
October 10 - Picture monies are Due
October 18 - BUSD Board Meeting
October 19th - End of the First Quarter, Min. Day
October 19th - Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill
October 24-27th - Parent Conferences. Min. Days.
Vivian Banks Charter School
Email: eric.kosch@bonsallusd.com
Website: https://vb.bonsallusd.com/
Location: 11800 Pala Mission Road, Pala, CA, USA
Phone: (760) 742-3300